LaLiga launches new competition

13 Mar 2018

LaLiga, which operates the top two divisions of Spanish football, has revealed details of a new esports competition that will be sponsored by fast-food restaurant chain McDonald’s.

The competition, which has been named McDonald’s Virtual LaLiga eSports, is the first major project to be announced as part of the recently-launched LaLiga eSports initiative.LaLiga eSports launched last month and forms part of the organisation’s ‘It is not football, it’s LaLiga’ campaign, which is seeking to engage millennials.

LaLiga has now teamed up with the Professional Videogame League (LVP), which forms part of the EA Sports Fifa 18 Global Series on the Road to the Fifa eWorld Cup 2018, to organise the new tournament. LVP is also the Mediapro agency’s strategic partner for esports.

The new competition will select LaLiga’s Spanish representatives for June’s Global Series Playoffs, which offer qualification spots for the Fifa eWorld Cup. The tournament will feature an online qualification stage and an in-person final stage across both Xbox and PlayStation consoles.

The first stage begins on March 19 and will be open to gamers over the age of 16. This stage will be played entirely online on ArenaGG, the LVP gaming platform, with 32 places to be up for grabs at the in-person stage.The second part of the tournament is scheduled to begin on April 16 and will be played in person at the LVP venue in Barcelona. Sixteen players on each platform will compete in weekly knockout rounds, with the winner of each event to compete in the Global Series Playoffs.

McDonald’s will also organise an exclusive tournament that will award the highest-placed participant one of the 16 places at the McDonald’s Virtual LaLiga eSports final stage.

McDonald’s becomes LaLiga’s main partner of the new competition. LaLiga will also be supported by El Corte Ingles, Allianz, Hyundai and Orange on the project.